The late afternoon sun arced over the teenage jogger. Tessa Tanner’s dark hair blew out behind her, her loose, lopsided ponytail, bouncing with each pounded stride. The heat was lifting off the asphalt in waves. Normally, the nineteen-year-old went for a run in the morning with her father and brothers, but she had slept in following a late-night study session; a boring, late-night study session that had her questioning her choices in life more than ever.

Usually, Tessa tried to keep her mind blank when she ran, but this afternoon, her mind refused to be silenced. Six months earlier, she had enrolled in a criminology degree at university, but it wasn’t where her heart was. All she wanted - all she had ever wanted - was to be a solider and to defend her country. She had joined the Army Reserve as soon as she was old enough – her seventeenth birthday – and had loved every moment. She enjoyed the camaraderie and the competition.

So, what was holding her back from pursuing her career of choice? It was something that continued to gnaw at her. She knew if she told her parents they would tell her she was being silly. Afterall, her mother never complained or showed concern when her father went off to save the world. However, Tessa was acutely aware of the stress her father’s occupation put on her mother. Was it fair on her if Tessa joined, too?

Tessa’s dream was to be an army sharpshooter. She had no doubt she was good enough. She was an ‘excellent’ marksman; a talent she had inherited from her father.

Her father.

He was the most amazing man. While it was natural for a daughter to think her dad a hero, Tessa’s father, and her six uncles, were the personification of the ideal. They were real heroes. Tessa didn’t need or want to be a hero, but the call of her heart to join the army was getting louder and harder to ignore, despite her concern for her mother. Her mother had told her she should follow her dreams. Maybe it was time she did just that.

Tessa continued along the footpath, nodding politely as she jogged past a couple pushing a stroller.

Was her desire to join the army simply because she idolised her father; for she knew she did. Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t love and respect her mother. Inez Tanner was the strongest woman Tessa knew. A smile spread across the teenager’s face as she wiped her glistening brow. Her mother was fiery. Tessa had inherited that side of her mother’s personality. She’d seen her father and uncles all duck for cover when her mother went off like a firecracker. Em7 they may be, but when her mother’s tone changed and her hands clamped on her hips, even the great Colonel Larabee turned tail and ran.

Tessa headed into Raceview Street, drew in a deeper breath, and started up the hill. For the third time in the past ten minutes, the girl’s instincts prickled. As she reached the top of the hill, she glanced back over her shoulder. It was still there. A blue Toyota. Licence plate HEW 938. She could no longer dismiss it as coincidence. When she’d first noticed it, she’d decided the driver must be having car trouble for he was travelling well below the speed limit.

The second time she had noted its presence, she had been forced to consider it was matching her speed which meant it could be following her. Being aware of her surroundings and making conscious choices about security had been drilled into her from a young age. For that reason, she had veered off her usual route and started heading for safety - just in case. Uncle Josiah and Aunt Harriet lived only another few streets away.

Tessa paused, jogging on the spot and peered the forty metres down the hill. The car pulled up. At this distance, all she could tell was that there was one male occupant.

Cursing softly, Vin Tanner’s eldest daughter decided it was time to call for help. Removing her phone from the band attached to her upper arm, she lifted it and snapped a photo of the car. Turning, she started down the other side of the hill. Knowing she was now out of the driver’s view; she doubled her speed; racing down the other side and turning right into MacDonald Street; only two streets away from her uncle and aunt’s house.

Still running, she hit the speed dial button, praying Uncle Josiah was home.

********

Josiah Sanchez unlocked the door and stepped into his large open living room, the air-con a welcome change to the heat outside. He noted that Abel and Caleb’s school bags were dumped in the hallway again, dropped where they had fallen before they had raced out into the backyard as usual.

“Boys,” Josiah bellowed. “Bags, now.”

Harriet appeared from the kitchen wearing a handmade apron crafted out of scraps of material. Wiping her huge hands on the front of it, she approached her husband and they embraced, she several inches taller than Josiah. ‘Amazon’ was a word that had often been attributed to the six-foot eight-inch woman with broad shoulders. “Good day?” the former wrestler asked.

“The Lord was smiling upon us,” Josiah offered as they stepped apart. “The mission was cancelled because the tensions eased. So, what did you get up to?”

“I dropped the boys at school and Hammy at work. Then I did the shopping and picked up some apples for the crumble you like so much.”

“Yum. See, I told you the Lord was smiling upon me today.”

“Then, I started clearing out the attic and found some things for the charity shop. Then I made some meals for the ‘Feed the Homeless,’ programme being run by Church... popped over and cleaned the rectory, tended to the veggie garden, picked the boys up and started dinner.”

“So, nothing much,” Josiah chuckled.

She shoved him playfully, almost knocking him off his feet.

“Whatever is cooking smells good. I could eat….” The roar of Josiah’s phone cut him off. Harriet grimaced, lifted her hand, and crossed her fingers. Josiah took her hand, also praying it wasn’t work. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he smiled happily, reading the name of the caller. “Good afternoon, Tessa.”

Vin removed his helmet and hung it on the handlebar, flicked down the jiffy on his Harley and looked over at the front door as it opened. A smile presented on his face and spread throughout his being as his wife appeared.

Normally, Vin would garage his bike immediately, but had decided on the way home that he would invite Inez to come for a ride. The idea of flying down the highway free with Inez wrapped around him was what he needed.

Unzipping his jacket, Vin pulled out the flowers he had purchased at the gas station when he’d filled up; a weekly tradition that had started the day after they married. The pink and white chrysanthemums were a little rumpled, but Inez never seemed to notice.

Inez shook her head happily. “I’ll pop them in water and grab my helmet,” she offered. These days, she read him like a book.

Vin reached out and pulled her down to him, shutting his eyes and drinking in the warmth of her presence. His head was pounding. No reason. Likely because he hadn’t drunk enough water today.

“Tough day?” Inez asked, running her hands through his hair.

“Nope. Just good to be home. I…”

The man behind the wheel slammed on the brakes, his eyes wide with terror as his attention was drawn towards two of the most terrifying things he had ever seen - a handgun the size of dinner plate and a man the size of Goliath.

Josiah walked around to the side of the vehicle; his weapon aimed at the driver’s head. “Get out.”

The white-faced young man, dressed neatly in a purple polo shirt, sat frozen - mesmerized.

“I won’t ask again, son. Lift your hands off the wheel and get out or meet your maker.”

Slowly, the terrified driver uncurled his fingers. “Don’t shoot. Please, don’t shoot. I’m getting out. Tessa, run!”

Josiah’s eyes narrowed. “Tessa?”

“Please, don’t hurt the girl,” the driver stated with a firmness that impressed Sanchez. The young man held his hands out to show Josiah they were empty, then unlocked the door and stepped out.

Tessa peered around the edge of the green Suzuki. She frowned, rising to her feet.

“Who are you?” Josiah demanded.

“Tyler Holden. An accountancy student at DC University.” He looked past Josiah to Tessa and jerked his head, clearly trying to encourage her to seek cover.

Tessa strode towards the pair. “I know him. He’s in one of my lectures.”

Josiah lowered his gun, recognising that the young man wasn’t a threat. “What do you want, son?” he asked. “Why are you following her?”

The boy’s eyes darted to Tessa. “I… I wanted to ask Tessa out but…”

Josiah winked at Tessa with amusement. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Ask away.”

Unconsciously, Tessa reached around and straightened her ponytail.

“Are you her father?” Tyler asked wide-eyed.

“Close enough,” Josiah offered, holstering his revolver.

“You wanted to ask me out?” Tessa inquired, looking a little self-conscious.

Tyler nodded. “I just… I mean... I saw you jogging and thought… but… and then…”

His cheeks went crimson. Her eyes flashed like diamonds.

Josiah glanced at the pair and sighed. “Ahhh, young love. Son, I think that’s a yes.”

At that moment, there was a roar from their right. A Harley rocketed fifteen feet into the air launching over the fence of the closest house. The rider landed the bike expertly and skidded sideways to a stop; his revolver pointed at Tyler even before he pulled up.

“Evel Knievel eat your heart out,” Josiah chuckled. At the end of the street, a station wagon careered round the corner, an army issue Sedan beside it. At the same time, a red Porsche and a blue SUV screeched into the opposite end of the street. All four vehicles converged on the small group standing in the middle of the road.

Brakes squealed and four angry men alighted, all with weapons trained on the smitten university student.

“Oh, God,” Tyler cried. “Don’t hurt her!”

For a handful of heartbeats there was silence and then Chris Larabee stepped forward. “What the hell is going on?”

“This is Tyler,” Josiah introduced. “It would appear the young man wants to ask Tessa out.”

Revolvers were lowered and annoyed glances exchanged.

“You were following her to ask her out?” Vin demanded in a gravelly voice as he climbed above his emotions.

The young man stared at the group of men and in a trembling voice, attempted to explain. “I spotted her and… I’ve wanted to ask her out for ages, but… she’s out of my league.”

“Don’t be silly,” Tessa chastised.

Ezra snorted. “She is most certainly out of your league, young man and I do believe this is going to cost me a speeding fine. I went through at least two speed cameras.”

At that moment, there was the sound of a gunshot. Tyler hit the ground. No one else moved.

A large yellow van rumbled around the corner and backfired again. Tyler peered up at it as barrelled to a stop, spewing grey smoke.

An enraged man stepped out, shouldered through the circle of men, and charged Tyler. “Are you the arsehole who’s going around scaring women?” He came to an abrupt halt courtesy of Josiah’s vice like grip on a handful of his jacket. Buck pinned the university student with a pointing finger, pulling against Josiah. “I swear to God, if you’ve hurt her…”

“Uncle Buck,” Tessa stated, gripping his arm. “It’s okay.”

Buck glared at Tyler who was still on his knees.

“Uncle Buck,” Tessa appealed again. He turned to her. She smiled and nodded reassurance.

“Did he frighten you, Sweetie? Are you okay?” Buck put his arms around her protectively. “Because if he’s hurt you, I’ll have Josiah rip his arms off.” He squeezed her protectively. “It’s alright, darling. We’re here. Men who stalk and frighten women should be staked out in the sun so birds can shit on them! And I’m just the guy to do it!” He shot Tyler another glare, the young man remaining on the ground, encircled by seven men.

“I wasn’t going to hurt her,” the twenty-year-old cried, clearly concerned by what he thought they may do to him.

“He wanted to ask her out,” J.D. explained to Buck as he put his weapon away.

Vin flicked his amused gaze to Chris. Larabee rolled his eyes.

Tanner stepped forward and offered his hand to the ‘stalker’.

Tyler looked at it hesitantly.

“It’s okay, kid. We aren’t as scary as we look.”

Accepting the hand, Tyler allowed Vin to pull him to his feet. “Thank… thank you.”

“Tyler, that is my father. He’s the one you need to ask if you want to take me out.”

Vin’s right eyebrow rose. He looked the young man up and down critically, pursed his lips and then inclined his head. “Walk with me, kid.” The pair strode off down the street.

Tessa looked around at her uncles who had responded to her call for help immediately. Uncle Buck kissed her on the cheek. “Twit almost got himself killed. What was he thinking?” he growled.

Two police cars entered the street, the boys in blue responding to calls about armed men in the area. “Freeze!” they bellowed. “Throw down your weapons!”

“Stand down,” Chris barked at them.

“Colonel Larabee?” one asked, recognising the Em7 leader immediately.

“Ezra,” Chris prompted.

“Of course, Colonel,” Ezra acknowledged, striding away to bamboozle the befuddled police.

********

“… so, when I spotted her alone… see, she’s always with a group and… she was alone jogging, and I thought that I would pull up beside her and ask her out and so I followed her and… well…”

“You lost your nerve,” Vin offered. The kid was speaking at the rate of knots.

“Yes, Sir. I was going to go home but… I knew I wouldn’t get another chance like this. She’s really popular and I’m… well, I’m a bit of a nerd.”

Vin’s chin bobbed in understanding.

“I didn’t mean to scare her. I had just decided to throw in the towel and turn around when I saw her take a photo of me and I realized that she may think I was some sort of pervert following her… well, I was following her, but I assure you, Sir, I’m not a pervert and I wasn’t going to hurt her… and…”

Vin raised his hand. “I get the picture, kid.”

“I honestly had no idea that… who are all of those people?” His eyes were dilated with adrenaline and fear.

“Tessa’s uncles.” Vin glanced back, watching as they made their way to their vehicles. “I guess they are a little protective.”

“A little!”

Vin eyed the young man. He seemed a nice boy. “If Tessa says she wants to go out with you, that’s fine with me but…”

Tyler nodded. “I understand, Sir. If I hurt her, they will deal with me.”

“Hell, no. Her mother with deal with you and even they are afraid of her mother.”

Tyler’s eyes popped.

Tyler’s eyes popped. He shook his head in wonderment as the ancient organ filled the building; Mendelssohn’s ‘Wedding March’ echoing in the small timber church.

The words her father had said to him the day he had asked for her hand in marriage filled his mind. “Tyler, she loves you so of course you have my blessing. Treat her with respect and we won’t have any issues. Hurt her and there won’t be anything I can do to protect you from her uncles. Do we understand each other?” He had known immediately they weren’t just words.

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© October 2000 Aussie Lass. : This relates only to the creative property in this story. The distinctive way the story unfolds, the specific dialogue and unique situations are mine. I acknowledge that the characters and settings belong to MGM and Trilogy Entertainment and thank them sincerely for turning a blind eye so I can borrow them. (g) No infrigement of copyright was intended and no profit has been made from this story... so, please don't sue me. It wouldn't be worth your while.